The Las Vegas Raiders personnel department spent countless hours poring over scouting reports and studying tape in preparation for their 10 picks in the NFL draft.
They must have really liked the film of the Arizona secondary.
The Raiders followed up Friday’s selection of Wildcats defensive back Treydan Stukes by picking Arizona safety Dalton Johnson in the fifth round on Saturday.
“I’m super excited,” Johnson said. “That’s my boy. We’re best friends. Being drafted is one thing, but being drafted to a team that I get to go somewhere with my best friend and continue this ‘Bear Down’ brotherhood, I’m super excited and ready to take that leadership and turn Las Vegas up.”
The Raiders made several trades to move up and back on the board, giving up a pick in one deal and acquiring one in another. They also traded away former top-10 pick Tyree Wilson and eventually ended up right back with 10 selections, the same amount with which they started the process.
“We’re just going to say it was just an opportunity for a fresh start,” vice president of player personnel Brandon Hunt said. “Fresh start for him, fresh start for us.
“We thought it’d be an awesome opportunity for him and an awesome opportunity for us. We wish him all the best. We’re thankful for his contributions as a Raider, and we think he’ll do a great job for New Orleans.”
That deal allowed the Raiders to move up and get Johnson, who along with Stukes were two of the four defensive backs the Raiders selected with the 10 picks they made over the three days of the draft, including the fourth-round choice of expected first-round pick Jermod McCoy.
They made the last six of those picks on Saturday.
The organization believes the overall haul, highlighted by No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, will help the franchise turn around after a 3-14 campaign.
“I think we had an awesome process,” said Hunt of a front office that put together 3,926 player reports. “(General manager John Spytek) laid out the vision for us and then the cool thing is, he pretty much lets us cook and do our job.
“I feel like today we won. Now it all starts on Thursday with rookie minicamp we’re going to get a chance to see but I think we’ve got competition in every room. We’re really excited to see these guys get with the vets and see where we’re at. But today, we feel like we did an outstanding job.”
That includes the boost in the secondary.
Even though Johnson and Dalton weren’t some sort of package deal, it did work out nicely for the Raiders to land both.
Assistant general manager Brian Stark had previously worked with Arizona head coach Brent Brennan, which gave him particular insight into both players.
“It was a cool circumstance that they’re both from Arizona, and I would say we have a cool relationship with their head coach, too,” director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan said. “We had great information on those guys and we had a pretty clear vision for both those players and affinity for them separately. We would have been interested in both players at different spots, but we’re really excited to add both those guys.”
The same goes for McCoy, whose stock plummeted due to concerns about his surgically-repaired right knee. The Raiders began the day by trading up one spot to the top of the fourth round to land one of the most talented players in the entire draft at cornerback.
Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses was added to the mix in the fifth round.
“We really wanted to add competition at every level,” Yeargan said. “Super excited about the guys we added today and the undrafted free agents that will compete too and then the guys we have coming back. The intention was to add some competition and add speed in (the cornerback and safety) rooms and add a level of toughness and special teams value.”
They did that.
The Raiders also picked up a couple offensive skill position players with blazing speed in Mike Washington Jr. from Arkansas (4.33-second 40-yard dash) and Oregon wide receiver Malik Benson (4.37).
Washington gives the Raiders a complementary back for last year’s first-round pick Ashton Jeanty, a role new coach Klint Kubiak said early in his tenure he wanted to fill to alleviate some of the pressure and wear-and-tear from Jeanty.
“I’m super excited to get rolling with him,” Washington said. “All I can think of is thunder and lightning. I can’t wait to be the one-two punch with him and be a sponge and learn from him also at the same time.”
Benson is a deep ball threat who is an excellent tracker of the ball in the air.
The Raiders also picked up the run-stuffing nose tackle they needed as they transition to a 3-4 base scheme under new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard by taking N.C. State’s Brandon Cleveland.
“He’s been a multi-year starter at N.C. State,” Yeargan said. “He’s a strong, heavy-handed player that plays the run well. He’s got initial quickness, and we really like his makeup too. So, we’re excited to add him into that group and see him being able to play on all three downs.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
